- Title: Germany to release oil reserves after IEA request, minister says
- Date: 11th March 2026
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (MARCH 11, 2026) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GERMAN ECONOMY MINISTER KATHERINA REICHE AT WEEKLY MEETING OF GERMAN GOVERNMENT VARIOUS OF GERMAN CHANCELLOR FRIEDRICH MERZ AND GERMAN VICE CHANCELLOR AND FINANCE MINISTER LARS KLINGBEIL AT GOVERNMENT MEETING REICHE ARRIVING FOR PRESS CONFERENCE MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN ECONOMY MINISTER KATHERINA REICHE SAYING:
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: IEA International Energy Agency Iran crisis natural gas oil oil reserves
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Europe,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA002293611032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:EDITOR'S NOTE: PLEASE SEE 2185-IRAN-CRISIS/ENERGY-GERMANY (FROM MARCH 9) AND 1278-IRAN-CRISIS/GERMANY-FUEL-PRICE (FROM MARCH 5) FOR FILE OF HIGH FUEL PRICES AT GERMAN GAS STATIONS
The International Energy Agency is to recommend the release of 400 million barrels of oil, the largest such move in IEA history, to try to restrain soaring crude prices amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
Germany's Economy Minister Katherina Reiche on Wednesday (March 11) confirmed the 400 million barrel figure and said her country would participate in the release, details of which were still to be clarified. The U.S. and Japan would be the largest contributors to the IEA release, she added.
"The IEA, and not only the United States of America, but certainly them too, have made it clear that there must be a visible signal to the market. The high risk premiums, speculative profits, to curb these with such a step, which can be described as enormous, because it is in fact the largest release in the history of the IEA," said Reiche. Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Reiche also confirmed the government plans to limit petrol price increases at petrol stations to once a day.
She did not give an exact timing for those measures.
Analysts have said the pace of daily IEA stock releases would matter as much as if not more than the overall size. If 100 million barrels were released over the next month, the daily pace will amount to around 3.3 million barrels per day - a fraction of the current disruption of around 20 million barrels per day, with the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman effectively blocked.
Oil prices rebounded on Wednesday even though markets doubted whether the IEA's plan could offset potential supply shocks from the conflict.
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